


Too Late

by rachel0_04



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Angst, Betrothed, Commoner You, F/M, Prince Jeonghan, kingdom au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-13
Updated: 2019-11-13
Packaged: 2021-01-30 02:22:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,771
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21420619
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rachel0_04/pseuds/rachel0_04
Summary: Maybe you shouldn’t have been caring that day. You should have let him go before you got attached. But it was too late now.OrYou are a commoner and you fall in love with Jeonghan, the Prince. Even when it seems like life is perfect, the cracks start to show.
Relationships: Yoon Jeonghan/Reader
Comments: 4
Kudos: 14





	Too Late

**Author's Note:**

> hey!!!! This is a request from someone! It’s a sad one, so be warned. I actually really loved this story even though it was hard to start off. I hope you enjoy! Without further ado..... here it is!!!!

“Hi.” You smiled and waved a tiny 8 year old hand at a small boy about your age that was crouching down by your favorite creek. “This is my spot.” You had come here, your ‘self-proclaimed’ spot, for years. 

“Oh.” The boy mumbled. The penalty for trespassing on someone’s spot was supposed to be a dunk in the cold water, like the other kids did to you when they found you at ‘their’ spots. 

But…. The kid looked so scared and too cute to deserve to get wet. His big eyes stared up at you, seemingly waiting to see what you were going to do.

“What’s your name?” You asked instead of easily pushing him in. The boy hesitated for a second before answering.

“I’m Jeonghan.” His voice was small and adorable as he stuttered out his introduction. “Sorry that I’m at your spot. I didn’t know.” He continued, getting up quickly and looking around for the best way to escape. 

“Oh, it’s ok!” You stepped closer, trying to keep him there. “I don’t get many visitors, so it’s a nice surprise. Do you want to play together?” You tried to sound like your mom when friends or family showed up unexpectedly. 

The boy stopped and looked you up and down. You could see he was hesitant to take you up on your offer by the way his eyes lingered on your dirty, bare feet and ragged clothes.

Your pride wavered a bit, but you just smiled brightly and put out your hand towards him. Your dad had always said that being friendly was your strongest suit and that if you were friendly enough, people would look past your poverty and see a beautiful person.

After what seemed like an eternity of waiting for an answer, he reached out and shook your hand. 

“Sure, let's play.” He said with a small smile forming on his face. You giggled and tagged him before running into the dense forest.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


You smiled softly over at Jeonghan. He had been a constant companion since you had met, six years ago. He never once cared that you had only been a commoner while he was the prince and sole heir to the crown. 

Of course, you hadn’t known that he was the prince until a few days ago, when he introduced you to his father, the king, as his best friend. His dad seemed surprised, but not at all disappointed or disturbed at the revelation. He just smiled and waved the two of you away to go play some more.

“What are you looking at?” Jeonghan asked, breaking you out of your thoughts. You realized you had been staring at him the entire time. 

“Oh, sorry. I just got lost in thought. Again.” You said awkwardly. Jeonghan just rolled his eyes and went back to staring out the window of his bedroom in the tower, trying to find a good spot to go adventuring. 

Had you been paying closer attention to the boy, you would have noticed the faint blush that rose in his cheeks and ears. All you were focused on was why your face felt so hot all of a sudden.

“Over there looks ok, right?” He said, pointing north, towards the large mountain range that had a lot of caves. You nodded, a smile already forming on your lips.

“It looks perfect. We could definitely find some gold or diamonds or something in one of those caves. Last one there’s a rotten egg!” You tell as you dash out of the room. The last thing you hear as you sprint down the stairs is, “No fair!!” followed by thudding footsteps.

  
  
  
  
  


“You’re the rotten egg.” You whisper to Jeonghan as you entered court together. He hissed out some random comebacks through his pants. You ignore them as you smiled politely to the nobles at the table and took your seat between a noble from a few kingdoms over and where Jeonghan was supposed to sit.

“We’re here.” Jeonghan said as he took his seat beside you and the King. Somehow he was able to not sound out of breath even when he had just run about a mile to get here. 

“You’re late.” His father grumbled disapprovingly, not even looking up from his papers. “You’re eighteen now, your should know better.” The King continued, finally looking up to lock eyes with you. “Not you, sweetheart. You’re fine. I know he’s the big problem here.” He said with a smile.

“Yes sir, of course.” You said with a teasing edge to your voice, causing all of the nobles and the King to chuckle at the joke. Jeonghan just huffed and rolled his eyes. You patted his back to let him know that it was just a joke. 

Although he was trying to hide it, you saw the smallest glimpse of a smile on his lips.

“Now onto business.” The King said, getting everyone back onto track. “We need to talk about the taxes on trade through our kingdoms.”

And that’s how the meeting went for two long and boring hours. It wasn’t that you hated the meetings, it’s just that it wasn’t really your thing. You’d rather be out exploring or having fun, but you were stuck here whenever they happened because of Jeonghan’s excellent reasoning and begging skills.

“And with that, council adjourned.” The King said, standing up and gesturing towards the doors so that the servants would open them for everyone. He walked the nobles to the exit with a big smile, saying his goodbyes.

“Come on, let's get out of here.” You said, pulling on Jeonghan’s arm as the two of you stood up. Your friend just shook his head and stayed put. You gave him a weird look, trying to get him to explain, but he just stood there.

“We have to talk to the king about something.” Jeonghan said in a stern tone. This was very unlike him, but you waited anyway. You had stayed with him here for two hours, what was a few more minutes?

“Well, well.” Jeonghan’s father smiled as he walked towards you two after everyone had left. You smiled back, looking at Jeonghan to see if he had also. He hadn’t.

“We need to talk, King.” Jeonghan said flatly. You elbowed the boy slightly at his rudeness. Sure, he didn’t like his father, but it didn’t warrant this kind of behavior.

“About what?” The King asked without any hint of sass or meanness back. Jeonghan just sighed and rolled his eyes.

“You know what. About the talk we had the other day.” Jeonghan answered. The two males held an intense staring contest after he said that. You felt weird, like you had been invited to sit in a private conversation that you had no business being in, between people you didn’t know.

“Oh.” The King finally spoke, a grin coming back to rest in his face as he turned to you. “I have decided that it’s in the kingdom’s best interest that I offer you the chance to be betrothed to my son, the prince, Jeonghan.” He spoke in a light, parent-like tone. 

“What?” You asked, confused and taken aback. A betrothal to the Prince was a big deal. Not only had you dreamed about this, but you had also assured yourself it would never happen. You liked Jeonghan a lot, but those feelings had never been mutual, right?

“Is that ok?” Jeonghan asked hesitantly, his voice changed from deadpan to soft and vulnerable very quickly. You blinked, still trying to let your brain catch up to the situation.

“Uh, yeah?” You said, but then quickly added, “I mean, yes, of course. I would love to be betrothed to you.” You made yourself blush at your own words. It was odd saying this to your crush for years that you never thought liked you back.

“Then it’s settled.” Jeonghan said, a smile accompanied by a blush formed on his happy face as he took your hand. 

The world seemed to be spinning way too fast and your mind seemed to be a bit too slow to catch up with it. Even though you had a bad case of vertigo, you still smiled back at your, now, boyfriend of sorts. 

“Yes, this is nice and all,” the King said, breaking your trance, “but we do need you to sign betrothal contract and start taking princess classes.” His demeanor was still pleasant, if not more fatherly. He seemed like he was sort of trying to embarrass his son. 

“She will later, right now we have to go and find the highest tree in the forest and climb it.” Jeonghan said, dragging you out of the room before you could even protest. 

You willingly followed him out of the castle and into the forest before stopping him.

“What is it?” Jeonghan asked, a bit aggravated at the adventure interruption, but was soon shut up by you kissing him.

You kissed him because you needed to know if he  _ really _ felt the same way you did, or if he just did this so that he did have to marry some person he didn’t even know. By the way he kissed you back passionately, you could tell that it was the first one.

“I really do like you.” You said after you two broke apart. Jeonghan nodded with a bright blush on his cheeks.

“Yeah. I really like you too.” He said, leaning in for another kiss. You wanted to give in, but instead decided to tease him and move farther away. 

“I’ll beat you to my spot on the creek.” You said cheekily before turning and running. Jeonghan yelled after you with a laugh before chasing you to the place you two first met.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


“Happy 22nd Birthday.” You sang as you gave Jeonghan a hug. He laughed pulled you away slightly so that he could give you a kiss.

“Thanks. You shouldn’t have.” He said after you finally backed away and handed him his present. He looked it over for a few seconds, examining the plain white wrapping paper and shaking the box. 

“Just open it already!” You giggled, pushing his arm. He rolled his eyes but did as you said. 

Ever so slowly, he peeled away the paper to reveal the gift: a beautifully ornate painting with his likeness. He tilted his head, studying it silently. You waiting with bated breath for some kind of reaction.

“Did you have this commissioned?” He finally asked, looking up to meet your eye. You shook your head with a prideful smile.

“No, I did it myself. Is it any good?” The painted had taken you ages to make. Not only had it been hard to capture his handsomeness on the canvas, it was hard to keep the painting hidden and secret from him. 

“It’s amazing!” Jeonghan said with a grin, putting down the picture to pick you up and spin you around, making you giggle. He stopped the embrace only to give you a smile-filled kiss. 

Today was perfect. Nothing could ruin-

“The king would like to speak with you, Prince Jeonghan.” A servant burst in, scaring you both. Jeonghan sighed, but nodded, waving the man away.

“He always has something to talk to me about.” He muttered, grabbing you hand to plant a kiss onto it. “I bid you farewell, malady.” The gesture made you blush and rolled your eyes.

“Good luck. And, Jeonghan, try not to anger your father. He’s such a nice guy. I don’t know why you hate him so much.” You called after him. You could just imagine Jeonghan gagging at your statement.

But it was true. The King was always so kind to you. Why would his own son hate him?

  
  
  
  
  
  


“I forbid you from seeing her ever again!” His father shouted across the meeting hall. Jeonghan rolled his eyes with a huff. His father always kept up a nice facade in front of his betrothed, but showed his real self in private.

“No you don’t.” He retorted, picking at his nails. As his father started going off on a rant about Jeonghan’s girlfriend, his mind started to wander. 

He thought about how long it must have taken to do the painting, or how he was going to treat her to the best dinner tonight. He was so in his head that he didn’t even see the slap coming.

“Are you even listening boy?!” The King roared. Jeonghan clutched his cheek, hissing from the pain. 

“No, because you spout off the same speech every time, so I don’t even see the point of listening to you anymore. I’m going to make her my wife and that’s finally.” Jeonghan said confidently, sticking his head in the air. The King stared down at him intensely.

“And when are you planning to do that?” His father’s voice dropped, scaring Jeonghan. Jeonghan didn’t let it show, though. He just kept his ground.

“Tonight. At dinner.” Jeonghan’s voice, luckily, didn’t sound as shaky as he felt on the inside. The King broke out into a grin, which then turned into a hollow laugh. “What have you done to her?!” Jeonghan started to panic now.

“Me? I’ve done nothing.” His father said, wiping a tear from his eye. “It’s you that’s done something.”

“Me?” Jeonghan asked, starting to get confused. His brain was racking, searching for what he had done, coming up empty for everything.

“Yes, you. You’re the one who doesn’t love her. You’re the one who is only with her to try and upset me.” His father said. He sounded insane. He had really lost his mind. “And when marrying a commoner didn’t seem to upset me, you decided that you’re going to try and make me sad by getting rid of one of your friends that I actually like: the girl.” That’s when it all clicked. 

His father had set him up. Called him into a meeting, make Jeonghan look like the bad guy, and now he’s going to make his only true friend and love think that what they had wasn’t special to him.

“No…” Jeonghan gasped, feeling the world fall around him.

“Yes!” The King roared. “Yes! And don’t even try to convince her it’s false because that’s just what I said you’d do. You’d try and act like the good guy so if news got out, the people of the kingdom might still like you.” 

Jeonghan ran. Even though his legs felt like they were too weak to even hold him up, but he ran to find his love. He  _ had  _ to get to her first, to make her see the King’s lies.

As he ran, his father’s laugh echoed through the halls.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


After Jeonghan left, a servant brought you the news. You didn’t even have any time to process it all because they handed you your bag and said, “Run. Before he gets here and tries to trap you here with him for the rest of your life. Run and live free.”

And you did. You ran. Even though your legs felt like they were too weak to even hold you up, but you ran to find your family and get out of the kingdom. Now you knew the of the Prince’s evilness, you had to leave. If he found you, you could be killed.

So when you got your family and found the noble of a few kingdoms away that you always had to sit beside during meetings, you escaped. 

The kingdom was not a small one, but it was far enough away that Jeonghan probably would think of it as a possible hiding place. The perfect spot.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Jeonghan burst in, but it’s too late. His lover’s house was empty, everything gone. Tears filled his eyes as he looked around the once familiar space, now barren and forgotten. Just as he’s about to turn away from the sight, a piece of paper left on one of the drawers catches his attention.

“Dear Prince Jeonghan,” it reads, “By the time you read this, I am gone. Don’t look for me. You won’t find me. You know how I always won hide-n-seek. Be content and live your life lavishly without the burden of me. Find yourself a wife that you actually care about. I love you. Farewell.” 

Tears flow down the Prince’s cheeks as he clutched the letter to his chest. She was gone, carried away from the kingdom in the wind. The world seemed to spin a little bit too fast for Jeonghan to catch up.

Even though everything was shattered and confusing, he could see and wholeheartedly knew one thing for certain: he would search. He was going to look for her and find her. He needed to explain the misunderstanding and get her back. He  _ needed _ her.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Even after seven long years, it still didn’t make sense to you. Why would he do all of that? Why would he lead you on all those years? Why did he hate his father so much? The questions still lingered unanswered after all that time.

As you stared out of the window at the land you now called home. It still felt so weird to live here. It didn’t feel right. Your soul still wanted to belong to the faraway kingdom where you were to be the princess. But that’s not where you belonged anymore.

You tried to pry your life away from there entirely by stopping actively trying to get news from the kingdom. The last straw had been when they said you had gotten sick suddenly and died. You hadn’t heard about the place since.

You sighed. At least there was one good thing to come from this situation: your parents’ happiness.

Your parents had become accustomed to the new life quicker than you did. Your mom set up a stall to sell his famous apple pies while your dad got a job at the local grain mill. They loved it here, saying that the change had really made their lives better. 

“Are you ok, sweetie?” Someone said behind as they slide their arms around you. You smiled softly. 

“Yeah, babe. I’m fine, just a bit tired.” You said as Minghao rested his head onto your shoulder. Maybe there were two good things that came from this situation. 

You had met Minghao the second year you had come to the new kingdom at your mother’s food stall. You had still worked there at that time, not having found your current job at the local school teaching creative writing and art. He had been the first customer who had looked in your sad eyes and asked what was wrong.

Ever since then, you had become bonded to him, and he to you. You never thought you could find someone who wanted to care for you and to be cared for by you after Jeonghan. Minghao shared his darkest secrets with you even when you wouldn’t share your’s. He went adventuring with you and didn’t ask questions when you didn’t want to answer them.

He was everything you needed and more.

“Excited for the big day?” He asked, kissing you cheek. You let out a huff of laughter at his childish gesture and nodded.

“Yeah. I can’t wait to see your friend’s sister’s husband who I don’t even know.” You said, turning so that you could face him. You hoped he couldn’t see the fear in your eyes that had kept you up all night.

“It’ll be fun, I promise.” Minghao said genuinely, kissing your nose. You rolled your eyes as he giggled.

“Whatever. Let’s go or we’re going to be late.” You said, let him go so he could start towards the door. You took one last look out of the window. “Brace yourself… everything’s going to be ok.”

  
  
  
  
  
  


“Welcome to my humble abode.” Junhui, Minghao’s best friend, said as he gestured grandly into his palace. Minghao rolled his eyes and pushed his friend’s arm while you just smiled and rolled your eyes at their banter.

“It’s amazing.” You said in awe, taking in the beauty of it. It was so much different than the one you had spent years in, but in a good way.

It had tall, exquisitely designed walls and ceilings. It felt so much freer and more accepting than the small, stone hallways in the other castle. You forced yourself to focus on the here and now and not the past. You usually didn’t think about it too much, but, from some recent news, you found yourself slipping up.

“Thank you.” A women giggled as she come up behind Junhui. The new King turned and smiled at the long, black haired girl. 

“This is my sister, Kyulkyung. She’s the one getting married soon.” Junhui introduced as she shook both you and Minghao’s hands. Your heart dropped as you heard the last part.

“Really? So you’re marrying that foreign prince?” Minghao asked, oblivious to how your stomach twisted as he spoke.

“Yep! He’s actually the King now. His father died a few months ago, rest his soul.” Kyulkyung explained as she gave you a friendly smile. You smiled back the best you could manage.

“Rest his soul.” You echoed with two boys, as per custom. “Uh, so is he a good guy?” You asked, the sentence coming out awkwardly. “I meant, is he good to you? I’ve heard some rumors that the family had some past issues with his… suitors.” 

Kyulkyung nodded thoughtfully. “I’ve heard that too, but we’ve never really talked about it. He’s very touchy when it comes to the past, so I don’t push.” She was such a good fit for him. “But if you’re asking if he’s standoffish or mistreats me, then the answer is no. He’s always been so good to and has always given me his whole heart. That’s what makes my Jeonghannie himself.” 

Your heart cracked as you finally heard his name, but you just smiled through the pain. “That’s lovely to hear. Some people look like they’ve got it all together, when in reality they’re a wreck.” 

Just as you say that, the person you all had been talking about walked in. His hair was much shorter than the last time you saw him. He had lost some weight and gained some more muscles. Even the look in his eyes changed. No more was he an excited and energetic youth. He was a King now. With a Queen beside him that wasn’t you.

Your heart shattered.

“Your Highness.” Junhui said was a flourish as he bows, making the couple laugh. This gave Minghao a chance to step closer and squeeze your hand.

“Everything good?” He whispered in your ear as Junhui greeted his ‘new brother’ with a kiss on each cheek.

“We’ll talk about it later.” You replied simply, squeezing back. No more secrets, no more living in the past. You lived in the now.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


By this point, Jeonghan had looked up from his soon-to-be wife’s brother and King of this kingdom to see someone he never thought he’d ever see again. 

She was as beautiful as the last time he saw her. Some big changes were evident, though. He could tell she had matured. She had become a strong woman who didn’t need someone to take care of her, even though, by the looks of how close the guy beside her was standing, she had someone.

He could also tell that some things didn’t change. She still had a caring look about her that she suited her so well. She still carried so many things inside that she wasn’t going to let out. 

Then there was the spark of wildness that was still in her eyes like it had been all those years ago while they adventured. He had stopped going out and exploring years ago, but she didn’t. She still did what she loved. 

“This is my friend Minghao and his lovely girlfriend.” Junhui said, noticing Jeonghan’s attention shift. Jeonghan smiled tightly and nodded, shaking each of their hands like it was the first time they met. 

He couldn’t remember the last time he had shook her hand.

Jeonghan turned away to face his bride-to-be. He had known Kyulkyung was something special when he met her. She was always so sweet, kind, and caring, reminding him of someone else. He started ‘dating’ her, testing the waters to she if he was ready to go back into a relationship yet. 

Apparently he was because they stuck. She stayed with him and he fell hard for her. She was so amazing and funny and… smiling up at him, the way she always did when she was waiting on him to do something.

Just as he opened his mouth to ask what she wanted him to say, a servant burst in. “Sorry for the interruption, but the council has called a meeting for you.” The servant said, looking pointedly at Kyulkyung and Junhui. The siblings shared a look before nodding. 

“Bye~!” Kyulkyung sang, giving him a peck on the lips before skipping out of the room after her brother.

Jeonghan turned around to face the two people left in the room. There was an awkward silence filling the air between them. He opened his mouth to say something to break the ice, but he was interrupted yet again. 

“I’ll be right back. I have to go to the bathroom.” The boy, Minghao, said, kissing the girl on the cheek before leaving.

Now it was just two.

Silence hung in the air.

  
  
  
  
  


“So you found yourself a suitable wife?” You asked, finally ending the dead space between you two. Jeonghan’s eyes glossed over with sadness as he shook his head.

“No one could be more suitable than you were.” His voice was soft and cracked a few times. You looked away, trying to blink the tears away.

“But here we are.” It was hard to be tough in the face of everything that had made you weak. A tear rolled down your face.

“I didn’t want this to happen. My father was an awful man who lied to you. Tricked you into believing a false claim.” Jeonghan was a bit louder now, but his voice was thick from grief. “You know that, right?”

Without the strength to say anything else, you just nodded. You secretly had known for a while that he had never been dishonest with you, but you didn’t want to come to terms with it.

“If you knew, then why didn’t you come back?” Jeonghan asked, heartbroken. You started to cry harder now.

“Because I didn’t know! I didn’t know and then I was pronounced dead, so what was the point of coming back after that?! I had to just come to terms that you were gone,  _ we _ were gone. I had to tell myself that this was ok. We weren’t destined to be together, and that’s ok.” You sobbed harder after you finished speaking. 

Jeonghan was crying now too. Even though you couldn’t see him through your tears, you knew.

“Well, maybe we shouldn’t have ever met!” Jeonghan yelled at you. “Maybe you should have just pushed me in the creek and been done with it. I would have been happier that way. I wouldn’t have to live with the fact that I hurt someone who never did anything to harm me.”

You stood there, balling. You couldn’t say anything else. Maybe you shouldn’t have been caring that day. You should have let him go before you got attached. But it was too late now.

So instead of talking, you let him storm out of the room, leaving you alone to cry. You let out all the tears you had been holding back for years. Somewhere in the middle, Minghao had come back and held you as you racked with sobs. 

And when you had finished, it felt good. You felt so much lighter than before, in a good way. You felt as if you were ready to tell Minghao everything. 

“Are you ok?” Just… not right now, not here.

“Yeah. We’ll talk about it later.” You mumbled, holding onto him like he was the only thing that mattered. And, at this point, he kind of was. 

“Ok. Did you want to stay here for dinner?” Minghao asked as he rubbed small circles into your back. You hesitated, think on it, before deciding.

“No. I don’t want to toture myself anymore today.” You replied. Minghao stiffened, like you had expected him to, but didn’t say anything. He just hugged you back and rocked you side-to-side. You closed your eyes and enjoyed the feeling. 

Closure could be tiring, but it was good. 


End file.
